by Toepopper » 21 Mar 2009 12:13
The bugs seem to have a cycle. Some years there are very few and other years they are thick. We like to stay away from the chemicals so we have tried a couple home made remedies that worked fairly well. This was applied when plants were small and vulnerable. After they have grown the bugs can't do as much harm. A mixture of water and a little Murphy's Oil Soap, about 8 drops of the soap to a quart of water, sprayed on the plants will keep bugs off. Murphy's is non toxic, biodegradeable and safe to use. Your tomatoes will not taste like soap. My neighbor uses regular liquid dish soap the same way. Dish soap is made from phosphate and will promote root growth and help the plants vascular system. Another old stand by is to take a stale cigar and smash it up. Place the pieces in an old tin can and fill with water. Let this sit overnight and strain the juice into a spray bottle, top off the bottle with water and shake, then spray your plants. Place the mess that is left in the can around the base of the plants to keep the non flying crawling type critters from climbing up the plants. This process is more time and work and you don't get as much bang for the buck unless you live in a state where they can grow tobacco and have access to large tobacco leaves.
The bugs seem to have a cycle. Some years there are very few and other years they are thick. We like to stay away from the chemicals so we have tried a couple home made remedies that worked fairly well. This was applied when plants were small and vulnerable. After they have grown the bugs can't do as much harm. A mixture of water and a little Murphy's Oil Soap, about 8 drops of the soap to a quart of water, sprayed on the plants will keep bugs off. Murphy's is non toxic, biodegradeable and safe to use. Your tomatoes will not taste like soap. My neighbor uses regular liquid dish soap the same way. Dish soap is made from phosphate and will promote root growth and help the plants vascular system. Another old stand by is to take a stale cigar and smash it up. Place the pieces in an old tin can and fill with water. Let this sit overnight and strain the juice into a spray bottle, top off the bottle with water and shake, then spray your plants. Place the mess that is left in the can around the base of the plants to keep the non flying crawling type critters from climbing up the plants. This process is more time and work and you don't get as much bang for the buck unless you live in a state where they can grow tobacco and have access to large tobacco leaves.
